LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.

Byline: The Register-Guard

What will we do without Molly?

I have to believe that Molly Ivins is dead because God is in desperate need of a brainy broad to make him laugh. (So what, Ann Richards wasn't enough?) I just don't know what the rest of us are going to do now.

KRISTEN BALLARD

Westfir

Iraqis probably aren't grateful

The current occupant has stated the belief that the Iraqis owe us a debt of gratitude.

President Bush is still in the bubble. Consider the civilian death toll in the tens of thousands, the anarchy, wholesale destruction and the human rights scandals for starters. I cannot envision any sane person - even the Amish, with their ability to forgive - mustering a "thank you" for such a total disaster.

VIRGIL DALE FRESHOUR

Vida

Income tax is wrong solution

Thankfully, Measure 20-114, the punitive and regressive Lane County income tax proposal, was defeated on Nov. 7, 2006. But now, the same folks who proposed this are at it again, possibly for the May ballot.

Only Lane County will be hit with this so-called public safety tax. This income tax is ill conceived and will hurt ordinary county citizens with lower- and middle-class incomes. Oregon's personal income tax itself is not only an extremely regressive tax but is in fact abusive to lower- and middle-income families. Many people in Lane County have no health care and haven't enough to eat, even with full-time jobs.

I say, get rid of personal income tax altogether in Oregon, like Washington state. Institute a dedicated 1 percent sales tax throughout the state to cover public health care and medicine. The state needs to fund recovery centers for addictions instead of incarcerations in jails and prisons.

At the same time institute a 4 percent sales tax on merchandise - but not food - for the general fund and raise the fees fairly on tourism and luxury items. And tax out-of-state corporations on their profits here in Oregon.

These are responsible and fair ways of raising taxes. Personal income tax is not a fair and responsible way to raise revenue in this state.

We can do much better here in Oregon and in Lane County. Let's be creative and fair in Oregon. End personal income taxes altogether in Oregon and institute reasonable and fair taxing throughout the state.

CAROL ROBERTS

Eugene

Bush is a lot like Captain Ahab

I enjoyed Nicholas Kristof's column on the relevance of classical literature to our current situation (Register-Guard, Jan. 24). He reprised the Athenian invasion of Sicily in ancient times and its subsequent disasters. He also invoked Herman Melville's portrayal of an obsessed Captain Ahab (George W. Bush) who destroys his ship and crew in his insane pursuit of conquering Moby Dick (Iraq).

However, I must point out that the analogy of the Athenian imperial adventure in Sicily was first put forth by Lewis Lapham in Harper's magazine. In fact, the prescient Lapham wrote this column on the eve of the war against Iraq.

Lapham accurately foretold the resulting disaster of this war when few of those responsible for initiating and advocating this unprovoked war of aggression were willing to listen to voices of reason.

I doubt, though, that even Lapham had any inkling of how destructive the war against Iraq would become: 3,000 dead Americans, an estimated 600,000 dead Iraqis. Of the multitudes of wounded and maimed, nobody can begin to imagine their pain.

Comparing Bush to Ahab may be an apt comparison, but it contains nothing of the extent of the crime of genocide against the people of Iraq, for which the United States is now guilty.

PAUL DRESMAN

Eugene